


The Jazz Chronicles

by thepotatoherself



Series: TLC A-Z aus [2]
Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: I hope not, Idk what to tag thus, Is classical music a fandom, Minor Character Death, Multi, Sorry if it is, band au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-09-21 03:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9530087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepotatoherself/pseuds/thepotatoherself
Summary: Cinder and her friends just want to play jazz, but the conductor, Ms. Blackburn, wants anything but. Will they be able to follow their music passions or will Ms. Blackburn fail them?





	1. Fat Burger

**Author's Note:**

> heyyy guyssss so this is my new project; a band au. It will probably be at least ten chapters bc im kinda echoing the books. More info on the next chapter at the bottom. Proud of this one, enjoy!

"I still can't believe you convinced me to do this," Cinder grumbled, hauling along the big, heavy black case.  
"You didn't have to choose the euphonium, you know," Iko smirked, tossing her light flute case in the air gloatingly. "The only thing heavier than that is the tuba. Why'd you choose that thing anyways?"  
Cinder shrugged. She wasn't really sure, herself; truthfully, she had only tried it at the instrument "petting zoo" because it had the shortest line. But when she tried it out, she knew it was the one. Something about the way it felt to play and how it sounded struck her deeply. Mostly she knew it was because it was probably the most underrated instrument in a band; the low brass section was already ignored, and the euphonium was easily forgotten next to the large tuba and the slide-y trombone. Yet it was still important to the band, just as much as any other instrument. Something about that made Cinder feel like she needed to be an unsung hero.  
Iko looked at the map in her hands as they approached a door. "C108. A few more doors."  
Today was their first day at the high school. It was big and intimidating, but this was the class Cinder had been fearing most. She had gotten her euphonium in July and had been practicing all summer, but had never played with anyone but Iko. All the other euphoniums were probably way better than her.  
"C108," Iko said stopping in front of a door. "This is it."  
"Alright then," Cinder said, her palms sweating a little. Iko opened the door and held it for Cinder, who awkwardly pushed her case through the door.  
All the chairs in the room had nametags on the stands in front of them. Iko waved Cinder farewell and went to her chair, which was next to a beautiful girl with blonde curls. Cinder was alone.  
She looked around and spotted her chair and walked over to it. She sat in it hesitantly, placing her case in front of her.  
To her right was an Asian girl whose nametag read "Pearl." She had a tuba out on her lap, but a case was nowhere to be seen. Cinder was baffled.  
If Pearl had noticed that Cinder had sat down next to her, she had shown no sign. She was texting someone on her phone.  
"Um, hi," Cinder said awkwardly. She never had been good at making friends. "I'm Cinder."  
Pearl looked away from her phone for a few seconds to look Cinder head to toe. Cinder did the same and realized that her t shirt and cargo pants had dirt marks and grease stains. She felt a little foolish.  
Pearl returned to her phone, uninterested. Cinder rocked back in forth in her chair, embarrassed. She never had been able to afford a phone.  
Without looking away from her screen, Pearl asked, "Are you gonna take out your instrument or...?"  
"Oh," Cinder said, feeling dumb. "Oh yeah."  
She stood up and used a stool behind her chair to put together her euphonium and mouthpiece. When she sat back down, a boy with a trombone had sat down to her left. He was handsome in a non-generic way, which made him even better looking. He looked at Cinder and gave her a friendly smile. Cinder, flustered at first, just barely managed to smile back.  
Cinder cursed at herself internally. She was not about to develop a crush! That was something Iko would do.   
Just when she had calmed herself down, the boy said, "Hey, Cinder, could you play me a B flat?"  
Cinder felt shocked and flattered he knew her name until she realized she had a nametag just like everyone else. Then confusion settled in. A B flat? Why?  
"Sorry, what?" Cinder flustered. She could feel Pearl rolling her eyes behind her.  
"A B flat," The boy repeated, showing no sign of annoyance. "For tuning, you know?"  
"Oh," Cinder smacked herself internally. "Of course."  
He tuned to her note and they sat in silence for a while. Cinder glanced at his nametag. Kai. It was a cute name.  
"Fat Burger?" Kai questioned aloud. He was referencing the sheet music in Cinder's euphonium case.   
"Yeah, that's my favorite thing to play," Cinder responded. Pearl made a sound of disgust.  
"Fat Burger," Kai said again, a smile growing on his face. "That's quite the name."  
"It's jazz," Cinder explained, picking up the sheet music and placing it on her stand. "A lot of jazz songs have some crazy names."  
"Jazz?" Kai sounded amazed. "I've only ever played classical."  
"I've always thought classical was boring," Cinder admitted.  
"Well yeah, me too, but I didn't think I could play much of anything else!" Kai's eagerness was apparent. "Would you play some for me?"  
Cinder blushed. This was it, the moment she would be exposed as a crappy euphonium player. She played a few bars before stopping.   
"Sorry, it's kind of boring," Cinder apologized. "My friend Iko usually plays the melody, and I'm not very good."  
"No, that was great!" Kai exclaimed. He leaned in, as if he were telling her a secret. "Do you think I could play some jazz with you sometime?"  
Cinder couldn't restrain her excitement. "Absolutely!"  
"Absolutely not."  
Cinder and Kai turned around to see a woman standing behind them. She was tall and gorgeous to a fault, but the coldness in her gaze was undeniable.  
"In my band, we do not play jazz," She said malevolently. She took "Fat Burger" from Cinder's stand and ripped it in half. The two pieces of paper floated to the ground.  
Kai, undeterred by her obvious maliciousness, inquired curiously, "Then what will we play?"  
The woman gave him a cruel smile. "What I tell you to play."  
She strut away to the front of the band and stepped onto the podium. "Greetings, students. I am Ms. Blackburn, and I am your conductor. I am simply thrilled to be here to teach you all."  
As she continued with her false sappy speech, Kai picked up the two halves of "Fat Burger."  
"Nothing tape can't fix," He assured Cinder. She grinned. Maybe a crush on this guy would be okay.


	2. None of Your Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres the first wolflet chapter. Less than 1000 words (oops) but Im pretty proud of it. A little later than i had hoped to post it but i dont think anybody was waiting for it so i mean ¯\\(ツ)/¯ enjoy!!

Scarlet walked into the band room. It was empty, like it always was fourth period. There were nine periods in day, and four were taken up the the different bands, and the other four the different orchestras, which left one period where nobody was there. It was Ms. Blackburn's conference period, and the orchestra conductor's lunch break. Not a person in sight.  
Of course, Scarlet wasn't supposed to be there either. Right now she was supposed to be eating in the cafeteria. But she found that if she left the lunchroom for the bathroom early in the period, nobody noticed if she never came back. This meant she could practice her trumpet in peace.  
Her dad had wanted her to take something "useful" instead of band, like home ec or consumer ed, but Scarlet had been set on joining the band since she first saw it in the class catalogue. She had been playing the trumpet for years, ever since she received her grand-mere's old trumpet for a birthday present. Sometimes she had played with her grand-mere or played a duet with her flute-playing best friend Emilie, but until high school she had never been in a band. And so far it had not been as she had imagined it. Ms. Blackburn chose old, boring songs and played favorites with her students. Scarlet prefered newer beats that required teamwork instead of solos.   
Now she was playing something just like that. It was a piece her grand-mere had composed. Scarlet would play the trumpet part, Emilie would play her flute, and Scarlet's grand-mere would lead on the piano. Years ago she would have needed the music in front of her, but now she had it memorized. She could hear Emilie and her grand-mere's part in her head, and it was just like the old days, and-  
A bump, a curse word, and the sound of a tambourine.   
Scarlet turned around to see the tambourine spinning like a penny does when you drop it. After a few seconds it was still and the noise stopped.  
Standing behind the tambourine was the hulk of a freshman Wolf.   
Wolf wasn't his real name. He had gotten the nickname from his looks; He was twice the size of the average freshman with more muscle and body hair than some seniors. He was Ms. Blackburn's favorite student from the percussion section and apparently played the drums as well as formal band percussion instruments. Scarlet had heard all about him from Emilie, who thought he was extremely handsome. According to her, nobody knew his real name because everyone was too scared to talk to him. Everyone but Scarlet, that is.  
"Can I help you?" She asked coldly, putting down her trumpet.  
"No," Wolf said bashfully. He has disturbingly green eyes, but they were avoiding contact with Scarlet's. "I don't mean to disturb. I just left my folder in here."  
He awkwardly walked over to the piano in the back corner of the room, which had a blue folder on top of it.  
"Did you leave it here overnight?" Scarlet inquired.  
"No," Wolf replied shortly, picking up the folder.  
"But we don't have band until eigth period," Scarlet pointed out.  
"I was here before school," Wolf said. He was heading for the exit.  
"Why?"  
"It's none of your business," He suddenly snarled harshly, making Scarlet's eyes widen. For a moment he seemed like a real wolf, not just a teenage boy who resembled one.   
He seemed to regret losing his temper in that moment, and composed himself. Then he continued walking towards the door and said smoothly, "Just like how it's none of my business why you're here when you clearly shouldn't be."  
Then it occured to Scarlet that he might tell Ms. Blackburn about the incident, and Ms. Blackburn's bad side was not a place Scarlet wanted to be.  
She blurted quickly, "I love my instrument."  
Wolf paused in front of the door. "What?"  
"That's why I'm here," Scarlet said. He looked at her blankly. She elaborated, "I live way out of town, and I've got to walk a mile just to get to the bus stop. I got tired of dragging my trumpet all the way there so I just keep it in a cubby in the band room. But I love my instrument, and playing it once a day in Ms. Blackburn's class isn't enough for me. So I skip lunch and come here instead."  
Wolf processed this information, then realized he now had to share why he was there before school.  
"I, uh, was helping Ms. Blackburn tune the piano," He said, nodding to the instrument before opening the door. "I have perfect pitch so she wanted me to help her."  
"That's funny, my grand-mere's piano needs some tuning," Scarlet commented, changing the tone of the conversation. A smile spread across her face. "Hey, do you think you could help her?"  
"Um, I guess," Wolf blushed a little.  
"Sweet. Is today good for you?"   
"Er...yeah, I think so," Wolf said, crossing his arms uneasily.  
"Cool. Meet me at the West entrance after school, and be ready for a lot of switching forms of transportation," Scarlet told him, a little bit of humor in her voice.  
Wolf didn't acknowledge her lame joke, but hesitated to leave. He was standing in the doorway, leaning on the door handle like he was making a big decision. Finally he took a deep breath and said, "Okay."  
"Okay!" Scarlet gave him a friendly smile which he did not return. "See you then!"  
Wolf stood in the doorway uncomfortably for a second more, as if he was going to say something more. But a second later he had disappeared out of the room without any farewell and the door slammed shut behind him.  
Scarlet took a minute to puzzle on how strange the encounter had been, then continued to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is cresswell, and will be out in less than a week. Thanks for reading!


	3. The Locker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cress is found/saved by Carswell Thorne in an embarrassing situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long for me to write, sorry. Imma work on it

Cress sat in the darkness, almost asleep. She wasn't sure how long she had been in the locker; but she did know that a bell had rang once. Now it was almost the end of the passing period, and the voices in the hallway had died down significantly.   
Cress hadn't slept well last night, but she rarely did. Now the dark, quiet locker was feeling a lot more like a bed than a locker despite the lack of comfort it offered. She was drifting farther and farther from consciousness...  
Her hand banged against the locker loudly, jerking her back awake.  
"What was that?" A voice from outside asked, sounded startled.  
Cress shuddered from fear. The only thing more embarrassing than being stuffed in a locker is being found inside one. Luckily this time she had been put in an empty one, meaning nobody would stop by to grab a book and find her.  
Except now she was about to be found anyways. She could hear footsteps outside, very near the lockers.  
"What could that have been?" The voice wondered.  
Cress shivered. The voice was familiar, and it wasn't someone she wanted to talk to.  
"Is somebody in there?" The voice asked. A fist banged against a locker, but it wasn't the one Cress was in. Two down, Cress guessed.  
"Is somebody in here?" The voice asked again, this time hitting a different locker. This one was right next to Cress.  
She froze. The person was outside her locker now, their shadow blocking the hallway light from coming in through the cracks. The person pounded against the locker a few times, and Cress clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from letting out a squeak.  
The shadow went away, and Cress assumed the person had given up on finding the source of the sound she had made.  
Suddenly the person gave one strong kick to the locker and it slowly swung open, revealing Cress.  
And standing in a karate-ready position was Carswell Thorne.  
He dropped his fists in shock. "Aces, is that all hair?"  
Cress wrapped her long hair around her wrists self-consciously. "Y-y-yeah."  
He offered her a hand and pulled her out of the locker. She was short compared to him, and she cowered to exaggerate the difference.  
"Um, thanks."  
"Yeah, no prob," Thorne replied charmingly, running a hand through his brown hair. His blue eyes had a dancing spirit behind them that entranced Cress. They stared into each other's eyes before bell interrupted them, indicating they were both late for class.  
Thorne gave her a polite nod and Cress, shaking, returned the gesture. They both started to walk away, but they were going in the same direction.  
Thorne laughed casually. "Where you going?"  
"Band," Cress told him anxiously.  
"Hey, me too!" He smiled at her. Cress's cheeks heated up and she looked away quickly.  
He had no idea that she had known that, as well as the rest of his schedule, along with that he would be late to period eight. In fact, Cress knew almost everything about Carswell Thorne. She had a bit of a crush. Or as her fellow kids in the foster home had called it, an obsession. But those kids never were nice to her, so she ignored their input on the issue.  
"What instrument?" He asked, continuing the conversation despite Cress's internal pleading for him not to.  
"Clarinet," Cress informed him. "I'm first chair."  
"Damn," Thorne sounded genuinely impressed, making Cress glow a little. "Bari sax. Second chair of two chairs."  
Again, this was something Cress had already known. She had hacked into the high school's database to find his course selections. From there she had figured out that the first clarinet seat would be in the perfect position for her to subtly glance at him when he wasn't looking. All she had to do from there was be first chair clarinet. That had been the hard part; she had rented an old clarinet from the school, using all the money in her savings, and practiced for hours in the foster home.  
There were a few awkward moments of silence. Cress saw Thorne look at her out of the corners of her eyes and she wrapped her hair around her wrists self-consciously.   
"Your hair is really something," He commented. Cress couldn't really sense if he liked or thought it was weird.  
"Thanks," She replied slowly. She took a chance and looked at him. He was smiling at her, his handsome blue eyes sparkling. Cress anxiously grinned back.  
"So you like having long hair, then?" Thorne asked.  
"I'm growing it out," Cress answered a little too quickly. She peeked at Thorne, who seemed unfazed.  
"Really?" He put his hand in his pocket casually.  
"Yeah, I'm gonna cut it and it'll be made into a wig for a kid with cancer," Cress continued, feeling proud that she was doing something honorable. He would be impressed.  
"That's really cool," He told her, putting up his hand for a high five. Cress took the high five with a bit of a smile. Carswell added, "Somebody's gonna have a real nice head of hair someday."  
Cress blushed. Was he flirting with her? It seemed similar to flirtatious moments in TV shows and movies at the beginning of a relationship. Was it possible her crush liked her back?  
"Who did that to you?" Thorne asked randomly.  
At first Cress wasn't sure what he was talking about, but then she realized. "The locker? Sybil Mira."  
Sybil was your stereotypical beautiful blonde cheerleader, except there was a coldness behind her eyes that always chilled Cress to the bone. It hadn't even been a month of school and Sybil had already pranked and bullied Cress more than she could count. But someday Cress hoped she would like her and she could be a cheerleader, too. After all, she was the perfect size for a flyer.  
"Huh," Thorne said, his voice a partially surprised and partially confused. It was almost like Cress had just told him the missing piece of a puzzle. A second later he was back to his nonchalant self, and they had reached the band room.  
Thorne sighed. "This is my third time being late. Ms. Blackburn's going to give me a detention."  
"This is, like, my eighth time, and she's never given me one," Cress tilted her head.  
"That's because you're a first chair," Thorne shook his head. "She loves you guys."  
Cress squirmed. She didn't know what to tell him.  
Carswell shrugged. "Whatever."  
He put his hand on the door handle and was about to walk in when he facepalmed, literally.  
"I almost forgot!" He shouted, exasperated at himself, before offering his hand to Cress. "Carswell Thorne, certified player."  
She shook his hand. "Cress Darnel."  
Thorne tipped an imaginary hat. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."  
Cress's cheeks flushed, but luckily he didn't notice because he had already disappeared into the band room.  
Cress twirled happily. Maybe she had a chance with him after all. Then she followed him inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the next jacinter chapter will be up sooner than this one was. I have half days of school and one day off so fingers crossed!


	4. Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter Hayle is in detention with the cruel Ms. Blackburn. But what comes after the detention is even worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a really long reason for why it took so long for this but in short the problem has been temporarily fixed so i will be posting more now :)

Winter sat in Ms. Blackburn's office, seated at the edge of her desk. She shuffled through the papers in front of her; a list of violations to Ms. Blackburn's strict rules that needed to be assigned detentions. It was ironic that Winter was being forced to assist Ms. Blackburn in this process for her detention, but she supposed it was better than some of the other punishments Ms. Blackburn had up her sleeve. Perhaps Winter had been given this mercy because her infringement was excused by her mental illness. But then again, most teachers wouldn't punish you at all if you had your health as a reason for disobedience.  
"What's next?" Ms. Blackburn asked in her chilling voice.  
With a start, Winter quickly grabbed a paper from the stack in front of her. She had been daydreaming again. Hurredly she said, "Camilla Perry, failure to practice."  
"After school cleaning, half an hour."  
Winter scribbled this down as legibly as she could while still being fast and moved it into the pile of minor detentions. Then she took another one from the original stack and read, "Reggie Williams, failure to comply to standard manners. Violation made four times."  
Ms. Blackburn paused from clicking her keyboard and scrunched up her nose, thinking. Finally she smirked evilly and said, "500 word essay on basic manners of the classroom."  
Winter winced but wrote it down anyways, then filing it alphabetically with the major detentions. Although she had a massive amount of sympathy for her peers, even the ones who weren't in her grade, there wasn't much she could do without getting herself in more trouble.  
Then Winter grabbed the next paper. Fearfully she read the name. "Jacin Clay, leaving class without permission."  
It stung Winter even more to know that this was her fault. She had been having another one of her stupid hallucinations and couldn't move. Jacin had tried to calm her down, but it was no use. Winter's skin was being encaged in ice and she was paralyzed to her seat. She had told him not to, but he had ran out of the band room to get her medicine. As usual, Ms. Blackburn was infuriated by this minor offense.   
Winter held her breath as she waited for Ms. Blackburn to say something. The clicks on Ms. Blackburn's keyboard and mouse felt excessively loud. Winter was scared to even glance in her direction. The pen was getting harder to hold as her palms got sweatier.  
Finally Ms. Blackburn said, "Sorting detentions after school, half an hour."  
Winter sighed in relief, albeit very softly.  
She glanced at the clock. It was 3:30. Her time was up. She opened her mouth to politely notify Ms. Blackburn, but before she spoke Ms. Blackburn said abruptly, "Your detention time has been served. Please leave now."  
Winter stood up and blurted, "Have a nice day!" before running out of the room.  
She ran by her locker to get her backpack before leaving the school. She had texted her dad asking for a ride and he had not replied. Exasperated, Winter was about to call him when a voice said, "Need a ride?"  
Winter looked up. "Jacin!"  
She hadn't noticed her tall but silent friend. She had been the next door neighbor and best friend of Jacin Clay for as long as she could remember.  
Jacin walked over. "My mom's coming to get me, and I doubt she'll mind driving one house more."  
"Ooh, get it, Clay!" A boy passing by shouted. Both Winter and Jacin ignored it; Their peers had been trying to force a romantic label on them for years. But more recently Winter had been feeling like that label would be more fitting for them. She hadn't told Jacin this.  
"What were you doing in there?" He asked.  
"Detention with Ms. Blackburn," Winter replied. "Wasn't the most fun, but it could've been worse."  
"Oh yeah, I remember you telling me you had that," Jacin nodded. "I told you band was a bad idea."  
Winter shrugged, smirking. She had wanted to join band all throughout middle school but Moon Junior High was not a place that had art courses. Now that they were in high school, Winter had convinced Jacin to play the saxophone with her. He claimed not to enjoy it but Winter knew he secretly loved it.  
Mrs. Clay pulled up in her Ford and greeted Winter warmly. Winter's mother had died while giving birth to Winter, so Mrs. Clay had always been a second mother to her.  
They drove home listening to music and telling Mrs. Clay about their days. Winter caught Jacin glancing back at her from the front seat in the side mirror , and she smiled a little. There always was hope he liked her more than just a friend.  
However, as the car turned down the block they lived on, her happiness faded. There was an ambulance parked in front of her house, sirens blaring.  
Winter had leaped out of the car before it came to a full stop.  
She ran over to Jacin's father, Garrison. Her father was nowhere in sight.  
"Where's my dad?" Winter asked, panicking.   
"Winter, darling, I'm so sorry," Mr. Clay started, reaching out his arms for a hug. Winter backed away from him, blood rushing to her face.  
A paramedic walked over, his face grim. "Are you the daughter of Evret Hayle?"  
Winter couldn't say yes, so she just nodded.  
"I am sorry to inform you that your father passed away from a heart attack at 3:26 this afternoon."  
Winter felt faint. "He's never had any heart problems before."  
"Yes, you are correct," The paramedic agreed. "We are not yet sure what caused it."  
Winter saw Jacin come up to her side out of the corner of her eye. "But you have training. And there's tools, like defibrillators, I learned about them in health class."  
"We arrived and his heart had not been beating for over a minute," The paramedic explained. "We tried very hard to save his life-"  
"You didn't try hard enough!" Winter burst, choking on her tears.  
Jacin's hand grabbed hers, squeezing it. "It's gonna be ok," He said softly. Winter leaned on his shoulder and cried.


	5. First Chair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levana, aka Ms. Blackburn, has a meeting with her first chair students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, im sorry im such a slow writer, but i have a lot of upcoming chapters planned out so hopefully writing them will be quicker! Enjoy this!

Levana stalked from one end of the table to another. The first chair students were all seated, anxiously waiting for her to begin the meeting. Each one stiffened when she passed by their chair. They were scared of her. It made Levana feel powerful. They were feared by their peers, and she was feared by them. She was the first chair of the first chairs.  
"There's been too many incidents lately," She began the meeting while still circling her students. "Let's call them uprisings. These are things I cannot afford."  
She reached Ran, the first trumpet, and stopped to reprimand him. "That redhead girl. She's getting ideas. It's your job to stop her."  
"Yes, Ms. Blackburn, I understand." His voice quivered. He wasn't as strong as his brother, the first chair percussionist.   
"If I hear her emphasizing beats two and four again, your grade will suffer," Levana threatened, careful not to change her tone of voice.  
She glided past Ran to the first chair baritone saxophone, Holt. "Carswell Thorne has been late to class three times. Do you know the meaning of this?"  
"No," Holt answered quickly.   
"I expect you to find the meaning. His detentions could turn into yours if he doesn't get his act together."   
"Not to point fingers or anything," A voice interrupted, "but Cress has been late way more than that."  
Levana turned. It was Sybil. She was the only person with the courage to say anything to Levana, and that was something to be respected.  
"Again, not trying to snitch, but she also isn't here. Isn't that a problem?" Sybil blew a bubble with her gum and it popped menacingly.  
"Cress Darnel is someone for me to address. Spit out your gum and know your place here," Levana equivocated.  
Levana moved on to Aimery Park, the first chair alto saxophone. He was similar to Sybil in that he didn't seem to be very afraid of Levana.  
"Winter Hayle and Jacin Clay seem to have become partners in crime," Levana lectured. "I do hope you realize that two misbehaving students means twice the consequences for yourself."  
"I do, Ms. Blackburn," Aimery replied calmly. "But they've got a deep connection. If they're going to be good students they should be seperated."  
"Interesting proposal," Levana said, and she meant it for once. "I will consider."  
Now Levana moved on to the first chair tuba, Josh Haddon. He knew that he had done something wrong; Levana could tell by how he held his breath. She had been waiting for this moment for a while.  
"Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I do believe I told you to put that euphonium girl in her place." Levana kept her cold voice even.   
"You did, Ms. Blackburn," Haddon confirmed, his voice weak.  
"Then why has she continued to show an interest in jazz?"   
He weakly apologized, "I'm very sorry, I've been-"  
"Why has she been spreading these ideas to other students?"  
"I'm going to stop her, I promise, Ms. Blackburn!" He cried pathetically.   
"No, you will not!" Levana growled. The whole room froze in fear. She continued, returning to her chilly monotone voice, "You have failed to follow my directions. Your grade now reflects that. Your status as a first chair student has been removed. You may leave."  
The whole room was in shock. Nobody had been fired from being a first chair before. Haddon could barely process what had just happened. He remained in his seat, frozen.  
"You may leave," Levana repeated herself, but this time her voice was louder and angrier. Haddon leaped to his feet and walked out of the room as quickly as he could.  
When he had closed the door behind him, Levana took a seat in her chair at the head of the table.  
"That is what happens when you don't follow my directions," Levana snarled. "I make rules for the greater good. If you don't follow them, there will be consequences. I chose each of you individually because you demonstrated the ability to be in authority while still following my lead. That's a valuable skill. Do not misuse or waste that talent. I have no time for those who squander when given tasks. Responsibilities are a part of life. If you can't handle that, I advise you escort yourself out the door now."  
All of the first chair students were refusing to make eye contact, fearing they could end up like Haddon. Even Sybil and Aimery were frightened by the incident.   
Levana, however, got more casual. She wasn't drained from yelling in the slightest. Instead she pinched her temple and wondered aloud, "Who's the other tuba player in this band? I'm blanking on her name."  
"I think it's Pearl," Sybil was the only student brave enough to speak.  
"Thank you, Sybil. If you could please notify her of the promotion she's received and tell her the schedule, I would very much appreciate it."  
Sybil looked like she was going to protest, but she thought better of it and kept her mouth shut.  
"Children at this school are out of control," Levana complained, rubbing eyes tiredly. "It's a shame I only have the opportunity to discipline band students. The principal does nothing to enforce the rules. All of your peers run wild like animals. It's disgusting."  
"That's because Principal Rikan's an old goon," Aimery said. He looked a little skittish while speaking, but he seemed to think agreeing with Levana would gain him favor. "He seriously needs to retire."  
An evil smirk grew on Levana's face. "You're right. He just needs to retire."  
The first chair students exchanged nervous and confused looks.  
"What if I were to persuade him to retire," Levana proposed.  
"Then he would listen to you and retire and we wouldn't have a principal," Sybil replied.  
"Yes, yes!" Levana nodded. "The position would need to be filled. And who better to become the principal than myself?"  
The first chairs seemed very unsure. Levana ignored their skepticism and continued, "After all, I have many degrees in education, not just in musical instruction. I've worked here for many, many years. I know the student body well. There's simply no better choice."  
Levana let a big grin grow on her face. The plan wasn't foolproof yet, but she could work out the details as she went along. The only thing she had to figure out was how she was going to begin her persuasion.   
"Um, pardon my interruption," The mousy first chair trombone, Pereira, piped up.  
"You will be pardoned if your interruption has a valid reason," Levana said.  
"Well, uh, I just thought you would like to know that one of the trombones is, um, Principal Rikan's son," Pereira managed to stutter out.  
Levana tried not to show her excitement at this news. "Really?" She said in a slightly interested voice. "Who is he?"  
"It's, uh, Kai, the last chair," Pereira told Levana.  
Levana narrowed her eyes. The last chair? That was the child who was showing interest in that trouble-making euphonium girl.  
"That's very interesting," Levana said, and she meant it. She thought about this new information for a moment. Then, very slowly, a new idea began to dawn on her.  
"I think we are going to rearrange the seating chart," Levana said, offering no explanation to the puzzled first chairs. Then, almost just as randomly, Levana announced, "Meeting adjourned."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! Sorry this is a slow wip, but supporting me while i get through this is the best!!!! Love you, reader!!!!!!!!! <3


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